Ryan ten Doeschate, Team India’s assistant coach, explained the reasoning behind an intriguing preparation method for the Tests against England. India is playing a five-match Test series in England.
During practice, the guests have been employing an intriguing strategy. Both the red ball and the white ball have been used for practice by the fast bowlers. Prior to the Test series, the majority of the team’s players had just finished an extended IPL season. According to Ryan ten Doeschate, this strategy is being employed to rid the bowlers of bad habits that were ingrained during the white-ball season.
He said that the Indian pacers are using this technology as a way to rehearse the fundamentals in order to prevent forming those habits in Test cricket.
“It’s not a new thing. All the ball manufacturers make those balls. We talk about detoxing the bowlers, just getting the very basics right. And that’s the easiest way to give you an indication. Guys have come out of a long IPL season and the filthy habits of that cricket. We don’t want that creeping into Test cricket. So Morne (Morkel) and the bowlers just use that tool just to make sure the basic fundamentals are in place. We’ve been using it for the last two weeks.”
Ryan ten Doeschate
The second Test of the five-match series will begin on Wednesday, July 2 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The visitors are behind 0-1 in the series after England won the opening Test in Leeds.
India eye Edgbaston redemption despite poor track record
India will have a difficult time trying to recover at Edgbaston and tie the series at one apiece. Although recovering from an opening loss is difficult, it is made easier by the visitors’ excellent record at Edgbaston.
They have already played eight Test matches at the location, losing seven of them and drawing one. Their most recent Test match at this location was the fifth and rescheduled match of the 2021 series in 2022. They lost by seven wickets in the end.
India will be under pressure to win the first Test after losing 0-1 in Leeds. They will need to end their losing run at Edgbaston and record the first-ever Test victory there in order to accomplish this.
